Rome Legal Issues Blog

Bayer birth control devices spawn lawsuits, documentary

On behalf of The Finnell Firm posted in Medical Product Liability on Friday, August 10, 2018.

The drug and medical device maker Bayer, along with the federal Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, have been in hot water of late over a birth control device that many women are saying caused them serious medical complications.

The device, called Essure, has been the target of about 16,000 legal cases as well as a recent critical documentary which appeared on Netflix. Essure was approved for use by the FDA in 2002, but Bayer has recently announced it is going to slowly shelf the device because of market conditions, not safety concerns. Bayer denies any wrongdoing with respect to Essure and has called Netflix to task for what the manufacturer implied was an inaccurate, distorted commentary.

Distracted driving more common in the summer months

On behalf of The Finnell Firm posted in Motor Vehicle Accidents on Friday, August 3, 2018.

A previous post on this blog talked about how a recent report found that, when people engage in distracted driving, they are typically communicating with a spouse, significant other or other person with one's circle of family and close friends.

This same report also highlighted another phenomenon that drivers in Rome and throughout Georgia should be aware, and that is that there seems to be a pronounced distracted driving season, a period of the year in which distracted driving is more common than it is at other times of the year.

When people text and drive, who's on the other end?

On behalf of The Finnell Firm posted in Motor Vehicle Accidents on Friday, July 27, 2018.

Although distracted driving, especially texting and driving, is a known dangerous behavior that causes serious and even fatal motor vehicle accidents, Georgia drivers continue to do it even in the face of stepped law enforcement efforts.

As a result, distracted driving has been blamed for the reason that, even though cars and roads have technologically speaking never been safer, the number of traffic-related fatalities has been climbing in recent years.

Are urban or rural roads more dangerous?

On behalf of The Finnell Firm on Tuesday, July 24, 2018.

You try to avoid driving into Atlanta, but you cannot always do it. Sometimes, you just have to bite the bullet and drive in the city.

Every time you do, it feels chaotic and dangerous. The roads are huge, but they're packed with cars. At rush hour, you can barely move. You have walkers and cyclists at intersections and jaywalking. You see police cars constantly. One-way streets force you into turns you don't want to take. Drivers constantly honk their horns, run red lights and text while they're driving.

Should I consider mediating my medical malpractice case?

On behalf of The Finnell Firm posted in Medical Malpractice on Friday, July 20, 2018.

For those who might not be familiar with the concept, mediation is a process that involves two parties who are in a dispute discuss their positions with the help of a neutral party who has training and experience with facilitating negotiations. Both sides are free to stop mediating at any time and do not have to enter an agreement. Moreover, the process is confidential, so what gets discussed in mediation will not be brought up in court.

The goal of the mediation is, ultimately, to get the two parties to reach an agreement with which both sided can live. The agreement will keep the parties out of court, and they can go about their lives and businesses.

Major baby powder case ends in multi-billion-dollar verdict

On behalf of The Finnell Firm posted in Medical Product Liability on Friday, July 13, 2018.

A jury in another state recently awarded $550 million in damages to 22 women who sued the baby powder manufacturer Johnson & Johnson. In addition to this decision, the jury also dropped a bombshell punitive damages award of over $4 billion.

Johnson & Johnson has vowed to appeal this verdict and has pointed to its past record of defeating jury verdicts on appeal. The company believes that the trial was unfair in part because these women were allowed to use a court in one particular state, in a forum that was not friendly to the company, even though they were from around the country. At least one of the plaintiffs was from Georgia.

Am I able to get workers' compensation for stress?

On behalf of The Finnell Firm posted in Workers' Compensation on Friday, July 6, 2018.

There is no doubt that work can get very stressful for many Georgia workers. In some cases, they work in jobs that are just naturally stressful, like medicine or law enforcement. In other cases, a worker might find himself or herself in a bad work environment or dealing with a really tough supervisor.

In some limited situations, workers' compensation benefits may be available to employees for stress, depression or other mental illnesses that are connected to their employment. As a word of caution, though, this benefit will not be available to people who are experiencing stress from what the courts would consider just ordinary circumstances at work.

Dancing Georgia doctor faces lawsuits, suspension

On behalf of The Finnell Firm posted in Medical Malpractice on Friday, June 29, 2018.

A dermatologist who filmed herself dancing and singing along to rap music while in the middle of her surgical procedures on patients was suspended by the board in charge of regulating Georgia doctors. She is challenging her suspension as a violation of due process.

In support of the suspension, the board found that the doctor had engaged in medical malpractice on six separate occasions. The doctor contends that medical malpractice, standing alone, does not constitute a valid grounds to suspend her license since other Georgia doctors have had malpractice claims filed against them but have not faced discipline.

Why patience is a virtue in all personal injury cases

On behalf of The Finnell Firm on Monday, June 25, 2018.

The first thing any new plaintiff wants to know after suffering from serious car accident injuries is: How much money can I get for my case and how soon can I receive it? This burning question is perfectly reasonable. In fact, most people who have been seriously injured in an accident due to no fault of their own have high medical bills they need to pay -- not to mention lost wages, future medical and rehab bills and more.

This burning curiosity relating to how much and how soon, however, can get personal injury plaintiffs in a lot of trouble.

Further review of off-label use of drugs and devices

On behalf of The Finnell Firm posted in Medical Product Liability on Friday, June 22, 2018.

This blog has previously written about off-label use and marketing of drugs and other medical products.

What this means is that, even though federal authorities have approved a drug for a particular use, doctors prescribe, and pharmaceutical salespeople promote, the drug for other uses that are not necessarily vetted.